Tamagawa Josui

What the heck is a Josui? It is a man-made water canal for irrigation, drinking water, or for industry. I am excited to describe this route to you because for 19.5 kilometers, this path cuts a straight line of peace, soothing green, and bird chirping across a big chunk of the Tokyo map west of Shinjuku. I combined this run with my favorite Hachimanyama to Meguro run (see Jan 5 entry below) to create about 34 kilometers of very comfortable running. I never needed to buy water because of the abundance of drinking fountains along the way (it also happened to be freezing cold which reduced my need for water), and finding a toilet was never a concern.

In this run I basically just ran home but have mapped for you the course related to the route along the Josui. When this path ends as the Chuo Freeway intersects the stream, study the map for where you would like to finish. At this point it is 19.5 kilometers from the Tamagawa Josui St. start, but the map attached will take you all the way to Hachimanyama St., in the event you want to use that station to get back home or alternatively run all the way to Ikejiri Ohashi or Naka Meguro. The Takaido St. is also very close. To get there, travel east along the Chuo Freeway, then left at Kanpachi Dori and the tracks will come into view after about 1km. The station is to the left again.



Take a look at the slides and decide if this is the kind of place you prefer. I have run much of this route twice so far, once running upstream and most recently I ran downstream. Most of it you have a choice of the dirt path which is part of the josui landscaping or asphalt road adjacent. The morning I ran after the frost, it was a little muddy on the paths.

Tamagawa Josui

The entire course is not total bliss, particularly the section of about 4 kilometers upstream of Mitaka Station (Chuo Line), but the short sections where you are running next to a road are frequently situated with the path higher than the adjacent road.

About 2 kilometers of the route is paved with running track material, believe it or not. This was on the left bank as I ran downstream from about the 6th kilometer. You will note my map makes a detour into the Koganei park, which you might consider if you need a toilet and a drinking fountain (but there are plenty up ahead as well). The park has a museum for Tokyo buildings from the old days. It’s worth a look.